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A key dilemma in Western policy towards Russia is whether to admit all those countries into NATO and the EU that wish to join, or to respect Russian sensitivities and be more selective. The dilemma is put on its peak for the countries bordering Russia; they are the ones who fear Russia the most, but they are also the ones whose integration into the West provoke Russia the most and is likely to strengthen Russian non-democratic forces. This is the dilemma that the volume evolves around; the discussion is focused at five countries bordering Russia: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. A core axiom is that nation-state behaviour should be understood primarily on the basis of the power polarity in their geographical environments, rather than attributes of any overarching international system. Whereas such "salient environments" differ from state to state, they are remarkable stable for each state. This makes the soil fertile for inertia and states' learning of lessons form their historical experiences. The book is also future-oriented, however: systematic scenarios for the countries in focus are formulated and eventually syntehsized for Europe's Baltic rim as a whole.